Traditionally, cats have been provided with food and water through the use of food bowls or dishes and water containers. The pet food is typically placed within a food bowl or receptacle and is allowed to remain available to the cat either until it is fully consumed or until it appears unlikely that the cat will consume the uneaten portion. More recently, and in the interest of convenience for the cat owner, pet food suppliers have marketed individual serving containers from which a cat can dine directly, thereby sparing the owner of the periodic need to clean out the food bowl.
One advantage of individual serving containers is that they make it easier and less costly for the cat owner to accumulate a variety of different flavors and types (e.g., dry or moist) for his or her pet. As will be readily appreciated by those knowledgeable about the feeding behavior of cats, they are very finicky and it is therefore difficult to predict, on any given day, how one's cat will react to a particular type and/or flavor of food. Thus, a food which is regarded by the owner as a favorite of his/her cat may, at times, go uneaten. Of course, other types and flavors of cat food may not appeal to the cat on any occasion. For this reason, it is a typical strategy of the cat owner to purchase a variety of cat food products in the hopes of always having something on hand that pleases his/her pet.
For every new type and flavor of cat food the owner wishes to introduce to his/her cat, it has heretofore been necessary to purchase an entire individual serving container. As such, before identifying a satisfactory number of different foods that appeal to a cat, its owner may spend a great deal of money and see a substantial quantity of expensive food go to waste. Moreover, given the finicky nature of cats as noted above, even foods that are usually popular with the cat may occasionally go uneaten.